Jim,
Here is a useful link for a free, downloadable, “.pdf ” format, frequency allocation chart. It is located on the ARRL (American Radio Relay League) web site. It delineates the U.S. amateur bands and their assigned usages from 1.8 MHz to 1.3 GHz. Regards, – Joe from Tennessee
JWR Replies: Thanks for sending that link. The radio band designations can be confusing to folks who are newcomers to the short wave listening and amateur radio worlds. I highly recommend that all SurvivalBlog readers at the very minimum buy themselves a short wave radio and a multi-band police scanner, and become familiar with their use. In a “When the Schumer Hits the Fan” (WTSHTF) situation, hard wire telephone, cellular phone, AM and FM commercial radio, the Internet, and television may be essentially unavailable. (Read: Off the air.) Most radio and TV stations only have enough fuel to run their backup generators for few days. Ditto for the telephone company Central Offices (COs.) After that, there will be an acute information vacuum. You may find yourself listening to overseas short wave broadcasters for your daily news, and to your police scanner for updates on the local situation–to keep track on the whereabouts of looter gangs. Be sure to buy a CB radio and few walkie talkies so that you can coordinate security with your neighbors. (The CB, FRS, and MURS bands do not require any license in the U.S.) My favorite band for walkie-talkies is the MURS band, since most MURS radios can be programmed to operate in the 2 Meter band, and because they have much better range than FRS radios. It is also important to note that the CB channels, FRS channels, and 2 Meter band frequencies will likely be very crowded WTSHTF, particularly in the suburbs, but the less well-known and less populated MURS frequencies will probably be largely available at any given time. (See the MURS Radios web page–one of our advertisers–for details on these radios.)
Once you’ve mastered short range communications and public service band monitoring, the next step is to join your local ARRL affiliate club and study to get your amateur license. Someday you may be very glad that you did!